OptiBiotix Health - Final Results & Notice of AGM
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Released
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RNS Number : 9539F
OptiBiotix Health PLC
28 May 2026
OptiBiotix Health plc
("OptiBiotix" or the "Company" or the "Group")
Final results and
Notice of Annual General Meeting
OptiBiotix Health plc (AIM: OPTI), a life sciences business developing products which reduce hunger and food
cravings, enhance the gut microbiome, and sweet fibres as healthy sugar substitute announces its audited results
for the 12 months ended 31 December 2025.
Highlights
· Revenues up 34% to £1.17m (2024: £870k) with £212k of orders received in 2025 not included and
carried forward for delivery in 2026
· Gross profit up 85% to £614k (2024: £331k)
· Gross profit margin increased to 53% (2024: 38%)
· Operating costs (including selling, R&D and patent costs but excluding non-cash share based payments)
are slightly up at just under £2.7m (2024: £2.6m)
· Cash balance of £1.04m (2024: £739k)
· Holdings in ProBiotix Health Plc ("PBX") and SkinBioTherapeutics Plc ("SBTX") with an aggregate market
value of £6.45m as of 31 December 2025.
· Launch of SlimBiome® in Hydroxycut, which markets itself as the No. 1 selling weight loss supplement
brand in the United States of America ("USA")
· Signing of a distribution agreement with a well-known direct selling weight management company with a
first order received in H2 2025 with product launch scheduled for H1 2026
· Growing list of new customers in Asia with 17 products launched and 74 customer projects at various
stages of development across six different countries.
· Territories outside the UK now represent 73% of revenue (2024:63%) with Asia increasing by 182% to
£268k from £95k in 2024
· Introduction of an optimised enzyme-based production process for SweetBiotix that delivers much higher
yields, a purer and better-tasting product, and reduces ingredient and production costs
· The Company ended 2025 with a balance sheet of £6.8m (2024: £9.0m), a strong cash position of £1.04m
(2024: £739K), no debt and a growing pipeline of new customers
Post period end
· Twenty-four metric tonnes (24mt) SlimBiome order from Meelung Trading, Taiwan to be delivered at
approximately three-month intervals throughout 2026 with payment already received for the first 12mt.
· Record start to 2026 with over £800k of orders received in January 2026 for delivery during 2026 calendar
year, including carried forward orders outlined above (announced 21 January 2026). This excludes
ecommerce and subsequent orders.
· Commencement of a clinical study by Hull University Teaching Hospital to determine the effect of six week
pre-operative consumption of WellBiome on time spent in intensive care and potential cost savings for
the National Health Service (announced 24 February 2026).
· Disposals of 8,900,000 SBTX shares for cash consideration of approximately £787k. The Company
disposed of 1,400,000 SBTX shares in March 2026 for cash consideration of approximately £112k and
made a further disposal of 7,500,000 SBTX shares in April 2026 for cash consideration of approximately
£675k.
· A shift from investing in building a broad business with multiple channels and territories to focus on high
growth areas and commercial sustainability
ü Significant reduction in marketing and selling costs in 2026 with planned reductions in R&D and IP
costs anticipated to save £500k-600k per year
ü Margin improvement in cost of goods which should reduce the cost of producing SlimBiome by
31% in Q2 2026 orders with further changes anticipated to lead to a final cost reduction of 48%.
The Board expects this should improve gross margin and gross profit
ü The development of profit and loss accounts for each part of its business (OptiBiotix Health USA,
OptiBiotix Health India, Ecommerce and B2B) with each business unit tasked with covering their
costs by end of 2026. This will help determine future spending and cost savings
Notice of AGM
The Annual Report and Financial Statements, which will be available on the Company website and sent to
shareholders who have requested it, contains a Notice of Annual General Meeting ("AGM") which will be held at
2pm on 23 June 2026 at the offices of Marex at 155 Bishopsgate, London, EC2M 3TQ.
Due to building security requirements shareholders wishing to attend the AGM in person should notify Optibiotix
on info@optibiotix.com by 19th
June to facilitate ease of access.
Stephen O'Hara, CEO of OptiBiotix Health plc said: "The Company has made good progress in 2025 with growing
sales, higher margins, increased gross profit and valuable assets in its holdings in PBX and SBTX with a combined
market value of circa £6.45m at the end of December 2025. The Company's investments in its IP portfolio, health
claims for products in major markets, international manufacturing and distribution base, and ecommerce
customer base is now complete. The Company is now focused on achieving commercial sustainability by
accelerating its activities to reduce costs and improve margins whilst continuing to grow its top line in those areas
showing high growth and commercialising its second-generation products. Recent progress on SweetBiotix
(announced 24th
November 2025), has continued into 2026 providing us with a cleaner, purer, better tasting
product, and a clearer commercial route to market than previously achieved. The Company will be demonstrating
its SweetBiotix products to shareholders in June 2026, further details on venue and timing to follow".
This announcement contains information which, prior to its disclosure, was considered inside information for the
purposes of the UK Market Abuse Regulation and the Directors of the Company are responsible for the release of
this announcement.
Engage with the OptiBiotix management team directly by asking questions, watching video summaries and seeing
what other shareholders have to say by subscribing to the new website to get regular
updates: https://optibiotix.com/auth/signup
View the full announcement and submit questions to management via our website:
https://optibiotix.com/link/ejnRle
For further information, please contact: OptiBiotix Health plc www.optibiotix.com
Neil Davidson, Chairman
Stephen O'Hara, Chief Executive
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (NOMAD and Broker) Tel: 020 7213 0880
Liam Murray / Ludovico Lazzaretti / James Western
About OptiBiotix - www.optibiotix.com
OptiBiotix Health plc (AIM: OPTI, OTCQB: OPTBF), OptiBiotix Health has developed a range of technologies and
commercialised products which modulate the human microbiome to help prevent and manage human disease.
Since the Group's inception it has created a wide range of microbiome-based ingredients and products including
prebiotic products like SlimBiome®, WellBiome®, SweetBiotix® and Microbiome Modulators within its core
OptiBiotix Health plc (OPTI) business, but also skincare through its holdings in SkinBioTherapeutics PLC (SBTX),
and probiotics through ProBiotix Health plc (PBX). These companies create a diverse portfolio technologies and
products in an emerging area of healthcare that is of growing interest in consumer markets throughout the world.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made in this announcement are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking
statements are not historical facts but rather are based on the Company's current expectations, estimates, and
projections about its industry; its beliefs; and assumptions. Words such as 'anticipates,' 'expects,' 'intends,'
'plans,' 'believes,' 'seeks,' 'estimates,' and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking
statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to known and unknown
risks, uncertainties, and other factors, some of which are beyond the Company's control, are difficult to predict,
and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking
statements. The Company cautions security holders and prospective security holders not to place undue reliance
on these forward-looking statements, which reflect the view of the Company only as of the date of this
announcement. The forward-looking statements made in this announcement relate only to events as of the date
on which the statements are made. The Company will not undertake any obligation to release publicly any
revisions or updates to these forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances, or unanticipated
events occurring after the date of this announcement except as required by law or by any appropriate regulatory
authority.
Chairman's report
OptiBiotix has successfully invested to develop a broad intellectual property portfolio, undertaken clinical
studies that have allowed it to gain regulatory approval for on-pack health claims, and developed robust
manufacturing bases and distributor networks in major markets worldwide. It retains valuable assets in its
second-generation products, including SweetBiotix®, and its equity stakes in the other microbiome companies
it has created. The Group is now concentrated on achieving profitability in all business units by focusing on
markets and products with the strongest growth potential: driving sales, raising margins and cutting costs.
Strategy and business development
From its inception, the business has sought to put the interests of shareholders first, by maximising opportunities
and reducing risk through the creation of a broad spread of assets in high-growth markets, which has reduced
shareholder dilution. We have delivered substantial value through the spin-off of two separately quoted
microbiome businesses, SkinBioTherapeutics plc ("SBTX") and ProBiotix Health plc ("PBX"), with an aggregate
market value of £6.45m at year-end (2024: £9.23m).
Our proven first-generation products SlimBiome® and WellBiome® address the fast-growing weight control and
gut health markets with the support of proven health claims, and we are building global sales with a growing
number of larger partners and an increasing online presence.
At the same time, we are progressing discussions with a number of major partners to bring our second-
generation products to market, with SweetBiotix® reaching a key competitive milestone through the development
of a new production process that repositions it as a potential partner rather than a competitor to sugar
producers.
We have taken robust action to reduce board, staff, R&D, IP, broking and PR costs, and secured admission of the
Company's shares to the OTCQB Venture Market to increase our visibility to the US investment community.
Results
The strong sales momentum established in 2024 continued throughout 2025, with revenues increasing by 34% to
£1.17m (2024: £870k). Over two years, sales have increased by more than 81%, from £644k in 2023.
Gross profit increased by 85% to £614k (2024: £331k).
We continue to have a strong balance sheet, with gross assets at the year-end of £6.9m (2024: £9.0m) and cash
of £1.04m (2024: £739k).
The Board
David Blain joined the Board as Finance Director and Company Secretary on 7 January 2025, bringing us the
benefit of his extensive financial, commercial and board experience with a range of private and public companies
including Iksuda Therapeutics Ltd, Applied Graphene Materials plc, Nanoco Group plc and Inspired Capital plc.
Under his leadership, we have achieved a significant enhancement of divisional P&L accounting and improved the
control of costs throughout the Group, with the aim of moving each division and ultimately the Group to
profitability.
Outlook
We made a very strong start to the new financial year, with record orders of more than £800k from four major
partners recorded in the first four weeks of 2026 to be delivered at approximate quarterly intervals throughout
2026. With tighter cost control delivering improved margins across the Group, and an important breakthrough
achieved as we move towards the commercialisation of SweetBiotix®, we believe that we are on course to
achieve our objective of moving all parts of the business towards profitability and delivering increased
shareholder value.
N Davidson CBE
Chairman
27 May 2026
Chief Executive Officer's report
In the last few years we have concentrated our activities and investment in building a broad-based business
selling clinically proven, effective products in fast-growing markets across multiple territories worldwide. This
investment is largely complete. Our focus is now on leveraging this international distribution, manufacturing,
and customer base to drive growth in those products and territories that can deliver the highest returns, while
progressing commercialisation of our exciting second-generation products, to achieve sustainable Group
profitability.
Strategic overview
OptiBiotix Health PLC (AIM: OPTI, OTCQB: OPTBF) ("OptiBiotix", "OPTI" or the "Company" and together with its
subsidiaries the "Group") is a life sciences business focused on the development of products which reduce hunger
and food cravings, enhance the gut microbiome, and provide a healthy substitute for sugar.
We believe that the Group has now reached a strategic inflection point, having developed a unique range of first-
generation products with good customer reviews, carried out clinical studies to gain approval for on-pack health
claims, built a strong IP portfolio, and developed manufacturing and distributor networks in major territories in
the world. We also believe we have a very valuable asset in our IP portfolio for future commercialisation,
particularly in our second-generation products including SweetBiotix®.
In parallel, we have invested in and developed a range of other microbiome assets, delivering substantial value
for our shareholders by spinning these out into free-standing PLCs, SkinBioTherapeutics ("SBTX") and ProBiotix
Health ("PBX"). To date OPTI has raised a total of £10.4m in funds, delivered a £10.25m dividend in specie
through the issue of PBX shares, and raised £7.81m through the sale of SBTX shares. This includes approximately
£112k from a disposal of SBTX shares in March 2026 and £675k in April 2026 when a material change in SBTX's
position occurred with the announcement of a suspension of shares due to the ongoing investigation into the
conduct of the former CEO of SBTX by FRP Advisory which meant that SBTX could not issue its interim results by
31 March 2026 as required by the AIM rules. OPTI retains valuable equity stakes in both SBTX and PBX with an
aggregate market value of £6.45m as of 31 December 2025, making a return of £23.72m on the £10.4m raised
since listing in August 2014. Recent trading updates for PBX report profitability has been achieved in Q1 2026,
demonstrating potential for further upside. These assets provide opportunities to realise value through the sale
of shares or the potential of an ad hoc dividend return to shareholders.
Having invested in building a broad product portfolio and other valuable microbiome assets in its holdings in PBX
and SBTX, the Group is now focused on growing sales in its first-generation products and commercialising second
generation products to attain commercial sustainability.
Product Portfolio and Asset Value Creation
OptiBiotix has followed a dual‑track strategy, developing:
· First-generation products (SlimBiome®, WellBiome®) to create early revenues and establish a position in
the market; and
· Second‑generation solutions (SweetBiotix®, Microbiome Modulators) to create long‑term, high‑value
differentiators.
SlimBiome® is our flagship weight loss product, clinically proven through four human studies to keep users feeling
fuller for longer, and to reduce craving for both sweet and savoury snacks. This helps users reduce calorie intake
and manage their weight sustainably while also promoting gut health and diversity. Containing only natural
ingredients, it has none of the potential side-effects associated with injectable GLP-1 agonists like Semaglutide,
marketed as Ozempic and Wegovy.
Recent changes in the weight management market, with the rapid growth in demand for injectable GLP-1
agonists, have presented both a competitive threat to SlimBiome and a significant opportunity for growth. This
has led us to change our focus to promoting SlimBiome® as both a safe and lower cost natural alternative to GLP-
1s, and increasingly as an aid to preventing weight gain when consumers stop injecting the drugs. There is good
evidence that a rebound in weight is the rule rather than the exception when users come off GLP-1s, with the vast
majority of users regaining two thirds of their lost weight within one year. Studies also show that 58% of patients
stop GLP-1 treatment within the first three months due to cost, side effects or other issues Study Shows 58% Of
Patients Discontinue Use Of Obesity Medications (Forbes, June 2024). Our product range is ideally placed to
support these people in their efforts to achieve a sustained weight reduction. The global market for alternatives
to GLP-1 agonists was estimated to be worth $1.2bn in 2024 and forecast to grow at a compound annual growth
rate of 16.7% to quadruple in value to $4.8bn by 2033 GLP-1 Support Supplements Market Research Report
2033.
WellBiome® is a patented, mineral-enriched multi prebiotic fibre complex developed in collaboration with leading
UK universities and formulated to enhance gut microbiome diversity to support overall wellbeing. On-pack health
claims authorised in Europe, and the USA include: WellBiome® nourishes beneficial bacteria to improve gut
health; contributes to improved bone health by aiding the absorption of essential minerals; contributes to normal
muscle function; supports normal brain function and memory; supports cardiovascular health; and contributes to
a reduction of tiredness and fatigue.
The Group announced in February 2026 the beginning of an clinical study being carried out by Hull University
Teaching Hospital to determine the effect of taking WellBiome® on cardiac surgery outcomes. The study follows
an approach to OptiBiotix by the National Health Service (" NHS") to carry out a double blind, placebo-controlled
trial that will evaluate the impact of six week pre-operative consumption of the supplement on time spent in
intensive care, the overall length of hospital stay, the incidence of post-operative complications, and the potential
cost savings for the NHS. This is an NHS led study which if successful it could lead to WellBiome® becoming the
standard of care for NHS patients undergoing surgery.
Interest in gut health is a growing trend around the world, with more than 80% of consumers in the UK, USA and
China considering it to be important, and over 50% anticipating that they will make it a higher priority over the
next two to three years (The top wellness trends in 2024 | McKinsey).
SweetBiotix® are a portfolio of natural, sweet, high-fibre, low-calorie products developed to replace both sugar
and sugar substitutes. They are trademarked and protected by a substantial and valuable IP portfolio comprising
more than 25 patents. The products have been tested by academic groups who have published five papers in
peer-reviewed journals providing an independent assessment of SweetBiotix's taste and health benefits. The
Group has provided SweetBiotix® samples under Material Transfer Agreements (MTA) to a number of partners
who have specialist expertise in sugar substitutes and are supporting SweetBiotix® development with a view to
the use of SweetBiotix® in their products. Milestone payments from commercial agreements with partners have
delivered over £750k of income to OptiBiotix over the last few years.
As announced in November 2025, a key competitive milestone was reached last year with the introduction of a
new enzyme that delivers much higher yields, a purer and better-tasting product, and reduces ingredient and
production costs. Significantly, this new enzyme produces SweetBiotix® from sucrose (sugar), an unhealthy
commoditised ingredient with a rapidly contracting customer base and converts this into a healthy and higher
value prebiotic fibre. This repositions SweetBiotix® in the eyes of sugar producers from a competitor into a
potential value-enhancing partner and gives us increasing confidence in the commercial potential of SweetBiotix®
as we continue to work with DSM Firmenich and other partners on product development.
Microbiome Modulators
There is increasing recognition of the role of the microbiome in health and disease. With this comes the potential
to develop strategies to change the microbial composition of the microbiome as a dietary or treatment option to
improve health outcomes, prevent chronic diseases, and/or improve the efficacy or reduce the toxicity of drug
treatments. Microbiome Modulators have been developed to meet this need.
This technology is applicable to a wide range of microbial species with short-term opportunities with
nutraceutical company partners who wish to improve the performance of their existing probiotics or more long-
term, pharmaceutical companies interested in improving drug therapies. This has created interest from a
spectrum of potential partners with a view to licensing the technology, co-development of specific products for
partners, or the production and sale of an ingredient to boost the performance of products containing Lactobacilli
species.
The pathway to financial sustainability
Having built its scientific, clinical, manufacturing, distribution and e-commerce customer base the Group's focus is
now on increasing sales, improving margins, and reducing costs to develop a sustainable business, and launching
its second-generation products by:
Growing sales. Considerable progress has already been made in increasing sales, particularly of high margin
product lines, with a record start to 2026. As announced on 21 January 2026, the Group has received over £800k
in orders for delivery throughout the 2026 calendar year. This excludes e-commerce sales and subsequent orders
received post January 2026. We are also successfully increasing our e-commerce basket size by broadening our
product range through the launch of more snack bar flavours.
Improving margins. The Group increased its gross profit from 38% in 2024 to 53% in 2025, which has impacted
positively on gross profit which has increased by 85% to £614k (2024: £331k). This improvement is expected to
continue, as the significant increase in SlimBiome orders for 2026, noted above, has enabled the Group to
negotiate volume discounts on its core ingredients which is expected to reduce the cost of producing SlimBiome®
by 31% on H2 2026 orders, with further reductions anticipated later in the year that will potentially lead to a cost
reduction of up to 48%. The Group is now supplying parts of Asia from India which has a much lower cost of
production and exploring the potential for India to supply other parts of the world. These changes will improve
margins on both the sale of SlimBiome® and final products and should have a positive impact on the Group's
overall margins in H2 2026.
Reducing costs. We are working to a plan that has led to a reduction in marketing and selling costs during January
and February 2026 of 78% which, with planned reductions in R&D and IP costs, are anticipated to save £500k-
600k per year. Research expenditure has been reduced with development focused on the scale-up of
SweetBiotix®.
Under the leadership of our new CFO David Blain, who joined the Board in January 2025, the Group has
developed separate profit and loss accounts for each part of its business (OptiBiotix Health USA, OptiBiotix Health
India, Ecommerce and B2B) with each business unit tasked with covering its direct costs by the end of
2026. Future spending will be focused on those business units and products with the highest return or most
growth potential. This may mean we reduce spending in some markets to focus spend on high growth markets
and products.
Consumer Health and E-commerce
We have invested heavily in e-commerce over the last two years to build brand awareness, a large customer base,
and monthly subscriptions leading to this part of the business now delivering approximately 30% of total revenue.
E-commerce gives us immediate revenue, direct and unfiltered customer feedback on our products, and acts as a
shop window for partners looking to launch similar products. In 2025 the majority of sales were organic (i.e. not
linked to advertising) meaning we now have a stable and predictable income without the need for high
advertising spend. This has allowed us to reduce our selling costs by 78% on Amazon with no impact on revenues
creating an Amazon accounttrading surplus. Our own direct-to-consumer online sales (www.optibiotix.online) has
always been profitable. The focus now is on growing our basket size by broadening the product range and
targeted campaigns on specific high margin products.
OptiBiotix Health USA
OptiBiotix Health USA has continued to build its presence within the world's largest economy by solidifying its
supply chain and strengthening client marketing support, and through consumer product launches.
We established a US-based warehouse and logistics provider to facilitate the import and distribution of OptiBiotix
products, as the uncertainty caused by changing US tariffs and customs regulations made it difficult to meet the
short lead times demanded by retailers and e-commerce platforms. As part of this initiative, we have also
identified several potential US-based production partners and are assessing the economic and regulatory
feasibility of establishing a local supply chain.
We were pleased to announce the launch of 'Hydroxycut Hunger Control' in August 2025. Hydroxycut is the
leading US weight loss supplement brand and the Hunger Control product is available both through e-commerce
platforms and in retail at Walmart and two new partners, Daily Nouri launching 'Feel Full' and Natural Health
Trends Corporation (NHT) launching a slimming soup.
The weight management market is highly competitive with high customer churn in the USA and it is essential we
build a broader customer base in this large market. We received a large number of new business enquiries
following our participation in Supplyside Global, the pre-eminent gathering for sports nutrition and supplement
brands in North America, and hope to announce further US partners as the year progresses.
OptiBiotix Health India and Asia
As the world's most populous nation, with 1.4bn consumers, a growing middle class and obesity prevalence of
40%, India presents a huge area of opportunity for weight management products. Our strategic investment in
establishing OptiBiotix Health India in 2021 has given us a strong platform for growth through the local
manufacture and sale of both ingredients and final products. The lower cost base of manufacturing in India also
gives us the opportunity to improve margins by exporting SlimBiome to customers in Asia and Australasia, and
potentially North America.
Our partnership with Morepen continues to develop although challenged by the patent expiry of Semaglutide in
March 2026 which has reduced the cost of drug treatment with generics costing around $15 per week. We are
working with partners to ensure positioning of SlimBiome® as a healthier alternative and as an aid to preventing
weight gain when consumers stop taking these drugs.
During the year we continued to enjoy strong growth with new and existing partners across a wide range of Asian
territories, with 74 customer projects at various stages of development and 17 new products launched across six
different countries. Based on current orders we expect Asia to be the fastest growing part of the business in 2026
contributing an additional circa £600k more in revenue than 2025.
Results
Our order book and delivered sales both grew strongly throughout the year, with total revenues increasing by
34% to £1.17m (2024: £870k) and orders growing by 34% to £1.38m (2024: £1.0m), including £212k of orders
carried forward for delivery in 2026.
Gross profit increased by 85% to £614k (2024: £331k), with the gross margin improving from 38% to 53%.
Operating costs (including selling, R&D and patent costs but excluding non-cash share-based payments) remained
stable at just under £2.7m (2024: £2.6m).
The Company has holdings in ProBiotix Health Plc and SkinBioTherapeutics Plc with an aggregate market value of
£6.45m as of 31 December 2025. Balance sheet shows gross assets of £6.9m (2024: £9.0m), no debt and net cash
at the year-end of £1.04m (2024: £0.74m).
Post period, the Group reported a record start to 2026 with over £800k of orders received by 21 January 2026 for
delivery during 2026, including carried forward orders outlined above. This excludes ecommerce and subsequent
orders.
Outlook
Our strategic focus is now firmly on growing sales, improving margins and reducing costs to build a sustainable
business, and launching our exciting second-generation products. Record orders in the opening months of 2026
underline the strength of our position with major partners in fast-growing markets for our first-generation weight
reduction and gut health products. At the same time, we are building a commercial roadmap to exploit the
potential of SweetBiotix® as a healthy, high-fibre sugar substitute across multiple territories, working with
partners on the development of applications and exploring opportunities for licensing.
In a volatile global environment, with conflicts around the world potentially impacting on supply chains,
increasing lead times and the cost of goods, and affecting investors' appetite for risk, we have the advantage of a
broadly based product offering across multiple international markets. We also have valuable holdings in PBX and
SBTX, reducing the need for OPTI to come to public markets to raise funds. We note the recent high level of M&A
activity in the weight management supplement market with Huel acquired by Danone in March 2026 for £864m,
Supreme acquiring Slimfast from Gl
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